It’s no secret that quantitative skills are in high demand on the job market—one analytics recruiter recently told The Journal that workers who can’t crunch numbers may ultimately face a “permanent pink slip.”

Now, a new ranking from the job-search website CareerCast.com names mathematician as the best occupation of 2014. “Math skills unlock a world of career opportunities,” publisher Tony Lee said. (Cue the Square One theme, and tune in Mathnet.)

Data whizzes of all stripes fared well in the annual list: Statisticians (No. 3), actuaries (No. 4) and computer systems analysts (No. 8) all landed near the top.

Mathematicians pull in a midlevel income of $101,360, according to CareerCast.com, and the field is expected to grow 23% in the next eight years. Other high earners include actuaries and software engineers, who can expect to earn about a midlevel income of $93,000 per year.

Speaking of math, the list is tallied by scoring 200 types of jobs according to four categories: environment, which rates things like competitiveness; income at low, middle, and high career positions; the outlook for income and employment growth; and stress factors such as travel and deadlines.

Jockeying for last place on the list are–again–ink-stained wretches and wielders of axes, as journalists and lumberjacks get squeezed out by new technologies, the report notes. Lumberjacks fare worse in dollar terms, registering just $24,340 in midlevel income.

The outlook for some jobs are so bleak that they weren’t included on this year’s list. Among the occupations consigned to the dustbin are bricklayer, typist/word processor, and stationary engineer automobile assembler.

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Written and edited by The Wall Street Journal’s Management & Careers group, At Work covers life on the job, from getting ahead to managing staff to finding passion and purpose in the office. Tips, questions? email us.